The Prisoners
| The Prisoners | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Rochester, Kent, England |
| Genres |
Garage rock Neo-psychedelia Mod revival |
| Years active | 1980–1986, 1997 |
| Labels | Big Beat Records, Stiff Records |
| Associated acts | The Solarflares, Planet, The Buff Medways, The Prime Movers, Thee Mighty Caesars , The Stabilisers, James Taylor Quartet, Graham Day and the Gaolers |
| Past members | Graham Day James Taylor Allan Crockford Johnny Symons |
| Notable instruments | |
| Hammond Organ | |
The Prisoners were a British garage rock band formed in 1980 in Rochester, Kent, England. Their 1960s garage sound made them a regular live fixture in London's underground "psychedelic revival" and "mod revival" scene of the early 1980s, as well as a linchpin of the Medway scene.
The Prisoners line-up was: Graham Day (Vocals and Guitars), James Taylor (Vox Continental and Hammond Organs), Allan Crockford (Bass) and Johnny Symons (Drums). The band's sound combined catchy, retro-flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a distinctive vocals style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Vox Continental organ. They often toured with The Milkshakes. The Prisoners didn't have much commercial success during their active years, but were later claimed as an influence on the Madchester sound of bands such as The Charlatans.
The band released its first album, A Taste of Pink, in 1982. Most of the songs were written by Graham Day. After releasing several self-financed records and spending a year with Big Beat Records, in 1985 the Prisoners moved away from the London garage band style and instead directly into the Mod revival mainstream. They also made a final album, "In From The Cold", for the Stiff Records label on their subsidiary label "Countdown". This deal was unsuccessful and the band split acrimoniously in 1986. They have however reformed for live shows several times since then, and released a final one-off single in 1997.
Since splitting up the members of The Prisoners have featured in a wide range of bands. James Taylor and Allan Crockford formed mainstream jazz funk band the James Taylor Quartet in 1986, although Allan Crockford is no longer part of their line-up. The Solarflares, who released four albums before splitting up in 2004, were Graham Day and Allan Crockford basically reprising The Prisoners sound along with drummer Simon "Wolf" Howard and Mr Parsley on organ. Other bands who have featured former members of The Prisoners are Planet, The Buff Medways, The Prime Movers, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Stabilisers and The Galileo 7. Day fronted Graham Day & the Gaolers, who released their first album, Soundtrack to the Daily Grind, in November 2007. Their second album Triple Distilled was released on the Damaged Goods label in 2008.
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